support the 1% increase on the welfare benefits. they think that people out of work income should be going up faster than people with incomes in work. that is what they are so profoundly out of touch with the nation and why they don't remain in government. >> thank you, mr. speaker. with this neighbors in trouble over phone hacking and the local hunting -- [inaudible] of it over christmas watching films on tv. [inaudible] the muppets christmas carol story, members of the cabinet? or it's not a wonderful life under the poor, starring him. [laughter] >> i think the party opposite want to swap out from -- have a muppets christmas carol instead.

i have got one suggestion for more christmas cheer, thank you, everybody knows the shadow chancellor does a brilliant job of playing said at the christmas party every year. >> here, here spent he doesn't actually job. why not give everyone an early christmas present, make the arrangement permanent and give him the sack? .. ritter's report which came up

with the idea of sensing and that is correct. the key, what we want to make sure is it the bank felt it can fail safely without taxpayers having to cough up the money to sort it out. that would be a major advance that our country would support. [laughter] >> mr. speaker, the promise of welcome news this morning, the attorney general's application to crush the verdict was upheld by the high court. he will understand that this will involve the hillsborough family in a great deal of legal costs to make sure they're properly represented. will he agree to -- here is -- the proceeds will go directly to

the hillsborough family. >> can i join the right hon. gentleman in the decision long wanted to have. the system has moved rapidly since there was a statement under debate in this house to bring about. i receive recommendations about the hillsborough county, the exchequer's on the other side of of the atlantic. as the first order of the treasury i can confidently predicted decision that will go down on merci's side. >> as if it is this season of good will and humbug will the prime minister confirm the greater part of the labor government, the top rated is 40 -- nearly four million.

>> he makes an extremely good point and added to that, they left record deficit, youth unemployment--and made a complete mess of the economy and had an open-door immigration system and never apologized for a word of it. >> from clark. >> watching over a few things, presenting the issue of your policy, i am little confused with what the prime minister gave a few minutes ago to my hon. friend, will he confirm once he is confirmed that the body that advises the will, nine million households, records since began of people suffering from your poverty and will he explain to the house and our

constituents as we approach christmas, what is the government prepared to do about this horrible scandal of pure poverty? >> the right hon. gentleman is right that this is a scandal, it does need to be dealt with, i don't believe the figures are correct. in 2012 it is expected 3.9 million households in poverty, but we are committed to tackling poverty. that is why we maintain the fuel payments and increased cold weather payments and cut the increase permanent. we invest in discount and the green deal will make a real difference. on the front page, they promised to abolish that but put it up. >> statement of secretary of state? >> on c-span2 we leave the british house of commons as they move to other legislative business. you have been watching prime

minister's question time aired live wednesday at 7:00 eastern while parliament in session. you can see question time again sunday night at 9:00 eastern and pacific on c-span. for more information go to c-span.org and click on c-span series for prime minister's questions plus links to international news media and legislatures around the world. you can watch recent video including programs dealing with other international issues. >> in a few moments tributes to the late senator daniel inouye of hawaii. in and our defense secretary leon panetta at the national press club on defense policy and spending. the senate is in session at 9:30 eastern. members will continue consideration of a bill that will help the victims of hurricane sandy. the senate banking subcommittee on financial institutions is holding a hearing this morning

on consumer credit reports. witnesses will include representative of the consumer protection bureau, about oversight of the credit reporting market. you can see that live on c-span3 and noon eastern. >> one of the things that did surprise me a little, i didn't conduct a nationwide survey but among people with long guns that i talked with high found very often the reaction, your way of thinking before and after you get a gun is very different. i think any law-abiding gun owners realizes when he has a gun, he or she, it is a huge responsibility. if you use this weapon irresponsibly or wrongly you could get yourself in legal trouble, you could cause

unnecessary death, you did not intend to harm to, makes you very careful. it should make you very careful and for most people it does but it would make people more careful if they all had to pass some kind of test before they get licensed. >> before you can drive a car. >> you don't always have a gun in many localities. >> former new york times editor craig whitney on the history of gun ownership and then control in america from living with guns:a liberal's case for the second amendment saturday night at 10:00 eastern on booktv's afterwards, part of four days of nonfiction books and authors on c-span2. >> democratic senator daniel inouye died monday at the age of 88. the senate's senior member was serving his seventh term. tribute continued yesterday. this portion is an hour.

>> first, my friend, chairman of the judiciary committee has been honored to receive one of the senate's high honors in the senate, i congratulate him on that. join with him in expressing my sadness over the passing of senator daniel inouye. he came to this government starting government service, 60 years ago in the territorial legislature of hawaii and came to congress when hawaii became a state in 59 and the senate in 63, only in service to robert

bird -- to robert byrd. this is a serious man, a solid man, patriot, and one who always had a good spirit about how he conducted his affairs and how he related to other members of the senate and his constituents and the american people. he served in the most violent combat, grievously wounded himself, part of the 442 regimental combat team, 4,000 mend units, served in brutal combat, they replaced 3.5 times personnel to maintain their strength, 14,000 served in that combat team during the brutal combat in italy.

9,500 received purple hearts. twenty-one medal of honor is including senator inouye, met lamar. and it was a remarkable time, remarkable commitment that he demonstrated to the country that he loved. we will talk about his record and i made to that later myself but i just want to say what i think about daniel inouye at his core, he shared with a save few weeks ago at the prayer breakfast, we don't quote what people say at that meeting, but he talked about his feelings about war, his participation in it. one of the most moving presentations i think any of us had seen. it was so well received by the people there. the truth is senator scott keeter -- senator inouye did not

like war. he hated war. he knew the destructive power of war and how people suffered as a result of it. he voted against a number of resolutions that would have committed the united states to military action. but at the same time, there was no doubt, based on his ranking and chairmanship of the subcommittee and defense and appropriations over period of years, he was a person who always hit bottom, could be counted on to insure that this nation was well defended. that we did not make mistakes. and he and senator ted stevens had a unique relationship. when something really developed that was important for the defense department, it involved a danger to our government or

could do damage to the department or they needed something really seriously needed it, often times in this government we can't respond and if we don't respond effectively, they would go to daniel inouye and ted stevens and it would be fixed because they understood that peace through strength was the best way to avoid war and they felt there was great responsibility to insure that the defense department was not damaged on their watch. their experience and judgment was such that they could tell the difference between wind and complaints and real danger to american defense capability. i would just say, mr. president, that's daniel inouye has established a record that places him among the finest senators ever to serve your. one of the finest human beings to serve here.

i just want to say as a member of the armed services committee how much i appreciated his particular commitments to insuring american defense capability remains second to none and his willingness to take the steps necessary to maintain our defense at the level we would want to be. mr. president, i thank the chair and yield the floor. >> senator from utah. >> to begin, i want to take a few minutes to express my deepest sorrow for the events of last friday. parents, grandparents and great grandparents, i was horrified to hear the news of the tragedy in newtown, conn.. my sadness remains for those who lost children and loved ones in the quiet community that had its

well-being of shattered through a terrible act of violence. like almost everyone i know, i am at a loss when a comes to making sense of such a horrible tragedy and the won't try to do so today. all i can do is offer my prayers and sympathies for those who lost children, friends and family members and the people of newtown. we believe families are each turn or, those who have lost loved ones will one day be reunited with them. that belief has helped me to cope with losses i have experienced over the years. i know nothing can relieve the pain of losing a child i hope this notion will bring the parents of those sweet innocent children some measure of comfort. once again, i offer my heartfelt prayers and sympathy, who have this study.

mr. president, ask my friend to place an appropriately in the record. mr. president, i also want to pay tribute to a man i personally love, appreciated and worked with for all these years, all of my 36 years in the senate. to bid a fond farewell to our dearly departed friend, a senior senator from hawaii, daniel inouye. in addition to being a distinguished united states senator, senator inouye was many things, pearl harbor survivor, father, grandfather, loving husband to his wife irene and as volunteer with the red cross, young daniel inouye tended to the aftermath of the attack on pearl harbor. and fellow japanese internment camps, he was one of many asian

americans who petitioned the government, the right to serve their country in the military. the petition was successful and served heroically. in fact the story of senator inouye's military service has become the stuff of legend in the senate and throughout the country. in 2007, senator inouye and 21 of his fellow japanese americans, world war ii veterans awarded the medal of honor, our nation's highest honor for valor. in 1959 when -- he was elected a state's first full member of the house of representatives. three years later in 1962 was elected to the u.s. senate where he would serve for five decades, the second longest tenure in this chamber. i am honored to have served with senator inouye throughout my entire senate service. he and i often found ourselves

on different sides when it came to issues always knew him to be a man of principle and decency and i never doubted his commitment to the people of his state, and doing what he believes is right. one of the few times we find ourselves on the same side came from the late senator ted stevens asking as both for help when his character was called into question. politically speaking participating in senator stevens's trial held no benefit for senator inouye. it would have been easy for senator inouye to deny his friend's request and blamed him for it. that was not house senator inouye operated. rather than letting a friend and for himself, senator inouye showed great loyalty and characteristic integrity in his willingness to testify to his friend's good character, put his own reputation on the line in service of a friend. i have a similar privileges. once again, mr. president, both

senator inouye and i were mystified by what happened in that trial. and we ridge justified in our mystification when finally they had to admit that it was a trial that should never have been brought. all i can say is i remember him testifying. i testified after he did, also mentioned colin powell also testified to ted stevens's character, and we both felt all three of us felt this was a piece merchant of a truly honorable and decent man. once again, mr. president, i am proud to have been senator inouye's colleague but i am more proud or pleased to have been his friend all these years. he actually showed me a great

deal of concern, a great deal of friendship, spend time with me when i needed particular help and really was there in many ways. one of the most decent and honorable people i ever met. the white and family and many friends, mr. president, daniel inouye met left an indelible mark on the nation he loved so much and he will surely be missed. mr. president, one last thing. i ask this be placed in an appropriately in the record. >> without objection. >> i want to compliment senator leahy who is president pro tem of the senate. i have served with him all my 35 years. he is a strong, intelligent, hard-working senator and i am sure he will fill this position

in every way it can possibly be filled. i know he, like i are both said we lost senator inouye. but senator leahy will be a worthy successor and he will have my support and i just hope everything goes well for him in this new transition, this new opportunity that he has. i yield the floor. >> mr. president lee >> senator from maryland. >> i too rise to pay tribute to the great senator daniel inouye. first, i want to express my deep and most heartfelt condolences to senator inouye's family. his wife irene, daughter jennifer, his son, jessica, their granddaughter maggie, to the people of hawaii, also our

condolences because he loved them dearly and they reciprocated time and time back to the senate and i also want to express condolences to his very able and capable staff, the other inouye family, many of whom were among the longest serving staff in the senate who were devoted to helping him help the people of hawaii and help the people of america. hawaii and the nation have lost a great hero and a true patriot and a real good friend. senator inouye was one of the great men of the senate who welcomed me and helped me get started when i first came to the senate. mr. president, it is well known i was the first democratic woman elected in her own way and what i came to the senate there was only one other woman, senator nancy caster bell of kansas. i say today, i was the only democratic woman though my was

all by myself, i was never alone because i met great men in the united states senate who helped me get started and helped me -- mentored me and taught me how to be an effective senator. senator inouye was a group of those men who in the warmest, most generous and helpful way welcomed me to the united states senate. he helped me get on the appropriations committee. he was my teacher. he was my mentor. he also had a wonderful way of communicating with all of us and each new class of senators, each new class of women senators arrived he welcomed each and every one of us with the same warmth and generosity he showed me. we have a saying among the women of the senate which is men of quality always stand up for we women fighting for e quality.

daniel inouye was there every step of the way. we wanted equal pay for equal work, he was there. we wanted mammograms' included in the protocol and establish an office of women, he was there. issue after issue. last year had a wonderful honor of going to the middle east with senator inouye and he admired that i had 20 years today, an eagle that many of the women in the senate where, the style which we have, a little collection. this one is from the smithsonian. he said i loved it. it is so pretty. i want to get one for my wife. i don't know if senator inouye ever got it for his wife but i say to my colleagues today, at an appropriate time on behalf of the women of the united states senate, i present this pin to mrs. inouye in honor of her husband because she gave so many

gifts to us. he was a lion in the senate, a real american hero. he was a fierce warrior when it came to fighting for his nation or standing up for hawaii. he received his medal of honor to his wife and pearl harbor. ..

he cherished his love for hawaii and its people. now his style was one of absolute stability. he was the one who believed that believe that the decorum of the senate enabled the senate to do the peoples business. he was the essence of stability and he showed that often good manners was good politics that led to good politics. he did not argue the loudest and instead he worked diligently. he marshaled his arguments and with quiet determination he won the day. has a former appropriator i saw that he really got through the air marks. he loved in mark's and what did he do with those earmarks? i can tell you. he made sure that we looked after indian tribes. he made sure we looked after the poorest of the poor in hawaii. his superfund site that had been

left by his legacy and he made sure that the children who needed help were able to get education that they needed in a small community setting that might not have been able to do it. he was the old-school and it's an old school that should teach us a lesson or two. if you remember the appropriations committee for 41 years. he led us by example. 41 years. he came in 1971. he became the chairman in 2009. leading by example he showed how we can accomplish great things by working together. he saw we could have a stronger country, a stronger economy and yet have a sense of frugality. he treated the minority party with great respect. all have spoken about his legendary friendship with senator ted stevens, another world war ii hero but now as

senator cochran serving as the ranking member he called them as vice chairman and i know he was ready to reach out to senator shelby. he knew we needed input of all senators to not only enact our bills but to craft our bills. he also served as chairman of the senate commerce committee, the indian affairs committee. he was the very first chairman of the select committee on intelligence. win the history of hawaii, this man has written. he didn't come here to gain fame. he didn't come here to do press releases or to be on talk shows. he came here to govern. he came here to the united states of america, to the united states senate, having fought for his country in world war ii while even members of his own family had been told in an internment camp because of their

japanese heritage but he was loyal, faithful to the day he took his vote to defend the constitution as a young private all the way to the day here now. he was a fierce defender of our military. for him, it was always about the troops and he never forgot what it was like to be fighting in a foreign land. that is why he was devoted to our veterans into our health care. we were devoted to the memory of senator inouye so to an old-school war hero, but those give a salute and a fond aloha but let's take the lessons learned from his great life and incorporate them in our very day here today. mr. president, i yield the floor. >> thank you mr. president. mr. president, senator inouye told me a story which i would like to repeat for our colleagues.

1973, george gallup, the pollster said, this was at the height of the watergate hearing. back then, these investigations into president nixon's watergate break-in were consuming the country. then there were only three major television networks plus the public broadcasting system and the watergate hearings televised in the senate for every single day, several hours a day on all four of those networks. almost everyone in the country for weeks watch the watergate hearings. they got to know sam ervin and the chairman. they got to know howard baker, the ranking republican. that gallup came to see senator inouye and senator inouye said, i'm glad to see you but why do you come to see me? he said senator, who would you say is the most recognized

person in the united states today? senator inouye said i am sure president nixon is in gallup said, that's right of the second most recognized person is senator dan inouye. inouye said how can that he and george gallup said while senator i suspect so many americans have never seen a united states senator of japanese ancestry with one arm and a distinguished voice and presence and you have made an indelible impression on the american people. that was 1973. that was a long time ago and since then dan inouye has made an indelible impression on the great many people around the world, especially on the 100 of us who serve here. he commanded our respect in a remarkable way. part of it was because of his service in the war. he and bob dole, our former colleague, literally were wounded at about the same time in europe and were in the same

hospital recovering from tremendously serious wounds. senator inouye of course was awarded the congressional medal of honor for that. senator pryor was telling a story that's when senator inouye was finally elected to congress he rode senator dole aide notes that said, i am here. where are you? because both of them when they were recovering from their war wounds had determined that one day they wanted to serve in the united states congress and inouye got here first. a few years ago, senator inouye and senator ted stevens invited a number of us to go with them to china. it was quite an experience. senator stevens, of course another world war ii veteran, had flown the first cargo plane into what was then the king in 1944 and of course senator inouye was well regarded in china for that service. so the group of senators, there must have been a dozen of us from both parties, got more time

with mr. hu and mr. wu the one and two leaders of china than almost the present of the united states would have. we recorded almost every -- because of the presence of senator inouye and senator stevens. they were like brothers. they called one another brothers. they acted that way in private and they served that way in the senate as chairman and vice chairman and chairman and vice chairman of the defense appropriations subcommittee. day, over a number of decades, single-handedly changed our american defense posture and they did it with skill and patriotism and knowledge of our structure that very few could have. several senators have mentioned how bipartisan dan inouye was. he was of the old-school. not a bad school for today in my point of view. he treated each senator with courtesy, even the new senators. he treated each senator with a

sense of equality, even those who were in the minority and not on his side of the aisle. he was always fair. he was always courteous. he always tried to do the right thing. he was a textbook united states senator. he announced for re-election after his last election election -- i don't know his exact age at the time, maybe 85, 86. he said i won't be able to run for that re-election now that he is gone but he will be well remembered. not long ago he spoke at our wednesday morning prayer brick is that we have here. usually we have 20 or 30 senators. on the day he spoke we had maybe six, maybe seven senators sitting in the window seals, standing in the back just to hear what he had to say. i will repeat what he had to say because we don't talk about what goes on there in public except to say that he talked about his war experience, and in a quiet

way. he stood there for 10 or 15 minutes and explained those experiences to those of us, most of whom had never had that sort of experience and gave us a new sense of him and it increased our respect for him, if that could have been possible. i join with my colleagues to say that senator dan inouye was a patriot. he set the standard really for the united united states senator. he set the standard for a man or woman in our military fighting to defend his or her country and he set the standard as an individual who showed courtesy to everyone he met. we will miss him. we honor him, and we say to the family are expressions of grief to them but more importantly our great respect for our colleague who today is gone. thank you mr. president.

i yield the floor. >> the senator from alaska. >> mr. president, i ask consent to speak until my comments are completed. >> without objection. >> i rise today to pay tribute to a mentor of mine in the senate, senator daniel inouye. the history of my state and senator inouye's are closely connected. we both entered the union at the same time in 1959. as a matter of fact i know as a kid growing up i wasn't sure if we had to senators were three senators because senator inouye's name was so well nonprofit alaska. winner states injured in 1959 there was opposition to both of us becoming states that we have proven our opponents wrong. thanks to daniel inouye hawaii has become a modern, prosperous state and many alaskans have a special fondness for the 50th state, especially have to say at this time of year when it's 40 below in fairbanks.

daniel inouye began his public career in service at the age of 17. when he entered the army after the attack on pearl harbor. he served with incredible distinction, earning the nation's highest military medal for actions in italy. as a member of the senate, dan inouye continued his fierce defense of his state and his partnership with alaska. my predecessor of. [laughing] senator stevens new senator inouye is his brother. they were together and produce much good for both of our states. that will last for generations. when i was elected elected to the sophist senator inouye was one of the first members to reach out and ask how he could help. the unique thing about senator inouye was always his quiet approach to all the issues. he gave me quite advice and help me learn how this place works. many times i would be down here the podium in the well here

waiting for the votes to be tallied or members to vote in senator inouye would come in and stand at the edge there and look up and just say, how is it going alaska? we would have a brief conversation and usually his words would lend incredible insight. it may not be relevant to the topic we were voting on that he would say something to me about something he knew i was working on and to share a few words. the first people of alaska will especially remember him for his dedication to their success. he met with alaska native people during their visit to washington as often, and i would say even more often, than the alaska members in the house or senate. they made a point to stop by his office on a regular occasion, to talk to him about what happened in the past, what is going on today and what to look for in the future. earlier this year senator inouye was in alaska at my invitation come his last trip to alaska.

he told of a memorable story about his support of the trans-alaska oil pipeline which was controversial when he supported it and its construction. he had a unique style on how to tell stories and you had to pay attention and listen. his words were very to the point. senator inouye told a story told by opponents of the pipeline that it would destroy the caribou which lived in alaska's north slope. this is what he was told over and over again. on his last trip he was in front of a group of people and i was anxious as i started to talk. he said at the story to tell you when he talked about this time of controversy about the alaska north slope and the oil pipeline and the caribou and what would happen in the destruction that may occur based on what he was hearing. but he was a strong supporter of the pipeline so in his words and in fact he actually said it. in fact he said the warm oil

running through the pipeline heats the ground so the grass grows year-round. the caribou come around in the ether grass and in his words, make love and the caribou population has grown threefold. he has done enormous things for alaska native people and alaska in total. the work he did he described to me when he went out to rural alaska many years ago and saw the horrible conditions of our water and sewer and sought an important effort to preserve the language of the alaska but also hawaii and yes, like hawaii, alaskans we love our air marks and we still love them and he was an adamant opponent -- of earmarks making sure that is mentioned by senator mikulski they went for the right reasons. he also mentioned the defense of his country and his personal

heroic actions but is ongoing, every day of work he did to shape the national defense and really international defense and it was an incredible fight to watch in action. i will always remember daniel inouye for his truly hearty laugh, his ready smile and his partnership with my state of alaska and his dedication to our state. truly a silent giant. my condolences go to his wife, irene, and the entire inouye family, and to all who miss him greatly. you know, we come down to this session every day and we get the calendar of business. this one dated today and you look on the list of all the committees and you see the chairman and the members, but

today his name is not there after 41 years. my heart goes out to him, to truly the silent giant. i yield the floor. >> mr. president? >> the senator from washington. >> mr. president i come to the floor today to pay tribute to an american hero, a great senator, an amazing man and a dear friend, senator dan inouye. senator inouye dedicated his life to public service and to his heart in and faithful work he has left his nation in a state that he loves so dearly far better in so many ways. we will all hear a lot about him in the days ahead about the barriers that he broke down in the course of his life and we will hear about his service in times of war and peace, about

his heroism, about his love for his family and state and country and we will hear about the admiration and respect he has earned from so many of us here in the senate on both sides of the aisle over the course and the long and storied career. mr. president what i want to focus on for a minute today is danny inouye who has been there for me as a friend and mentor for the past 20 years. he has been a shining light in this chamber and has set an example for all of us who measure and not simply words but in action. senator inouye was certainly not not the law dismember this chamber. he was certainly in not the most -- and he was not a senator who spent his time making long-winded speeches that through his quiet resolve, his understatunderstat ed strength and his commitment to do the right thing no matter what, he was able to accomplish so much. senator inouye let the

appropriations committee through difficult times with great and incredible effectiveness. the partisan rancor that is too often dominating this senate was unacceptable to him and he made it clear to all of us. at danny's focus was on people, on the infrastructure that they depend on in their community, on the most vulnerable, on our military families and in the state of hawaii. vista president is danny inouye was a giant here in the senate, he was a mountain back home. hawaii would not be hawaii without danny inouye. he p5 for his stake. he would not allow it to be ignored and he made it a better place to live and work for generations to come. mr. president as a senator from another state far from washington d.c. i learned a lot from senator inouye about how to make sure they never get lost here in the mix. through his quiet and shining example, we all learned a bit more about that partisanship.

i so remember danny huddling here on the floor working closely with his good friend, senator stevens from alaska. we all learned a bit more about effectiveness. he knew how to get things done more than anyone i have seen before or wilson's. we have all learned a bit more about humility. you would never hear danny talk about himself. we all learned a bit more about respect, about kindness towards all, not just those who agree with you and mr. president danny helped us all remember every single day why he came here in the first place. i can tell you how many times danny would stand his ground on issues that others would have given up on simply because he knew the impact he would have an real people. he knew this was about so much more than politics or legislative means. it was about helping people in solving their problems and delivering for our communities and our nation.

mr. president, danny inouye impressed me every day for 20 years but nothing impressed me more than his love for his family. i just got off the phone a few minutes ago with his wife irene, and express my condolences. she is such a gracious lady. danny will be missed terribly but he has left so much for forest to remember him by. his legislative achievements of course, the roads that wouldn't have been built had he not been here ,-com,-com ma the military bases that would have not existed had he not fought so far it for them, the ports and bridges and trains that would have been less safe had he not move legislation that strengthened it and so much more but danny will be remembered far beyond his many tangible achievements. he will live on through the values that he embodied and spread, through the principles he stood up for and shared, through his family who loved him dearly, through the people who will never forget his advocacy. through the country he

sacrificed so much for and of course through all of us, who are forever better simply for having served with the greatest senator of all, senator danny inouye. thank you mr. president. i yield the floor. >> mr. president? mr. president before i yield the floor i would ask unanimous consent. i have for unanimous consent request for committee to meet during today's session of the senate to have the approval and i ask unanimous consent these be agreed to and be placed in the record. >> without objection. >> thank you mr. president i yield the floor. >> mr. president on behalf of the over 10 million people in georgia and over 300 million people in united states of america and the other 99 members of united states senate, i want to pay tribute and offer my condolences to the family of dan inouye. when a great football coach

passes away and players are interviewed about what kind of coach he was, he was a players coach. in gray generals are lost, soldiers who fought under him go to the funeral and ask what kind of general was he? he was a soldier's general. i'm here to pay tribute to the life of a senator senator. dan inouye was a great role model. he came here when hawaii was first created and became a stay, one of the first senators and has been here ever since. >> influence lies not on -- but of men. i got an e-mail this morning. the seven from georgia elected in 1980 and it is interview he said please remember the love and affection my wife and i have for great american dan inouye. learning from his patients, his guidance, his temperament but also his determination. yesterday i'm told his last words were aloha. we have the remembered those

were the first word you had from dan inouye as well because he meant it and a welcome and friendly phrase. i want to follow up on what senator alexander said from him because i too was at the prayer breakfast when dan inouye spoke earlier this year. the largest crowd we ever had, not because invitations went out but because the word got out that dan inouye was going to be there and everybody there was mesmerized by his candor, by his life and his commitment. we often discuss what goes on inside those rams and i want here except to say when dan inouye opened his heart it was as big and rich of a heart as we have seen on the florida -- senate. to his family and the loved ones and the people of america we have lost a great man that we have all been out there knowing him loving him and serving with him and i pay tribute to the life and the times of the great american hero dan inouye. >> mr. president? mr. president? >> the mr. president?

>> the senator graham kansas. >> thank you mr. president. let me associate myself with the remarks of senator isakson and thank him and all of my colleagues who come to the floor. to eulogize if that is the proper word, senator danny inouye. our nation has lost an unsung hero. heroic and mid-and military valor receiving the nation's highest honor, the medal of honor. taking the truth during our most challenging times. a tireless guardian of our national security and a champion of the men and women who put their lives at risk to protect the united states and whose legislative achievements have been simply remarkable. all this from a man who always gave his credit and never sought the spotlight. yesterday senator john mccain

from arizona, a hero in his own right, said the senate lost its below citizens of hawaii, lost a unique, brave and wonderful legislator a man who brought to this institution the most unique credentials and senator mccain said, and would argue probably of anyone who has ever served in this very diverse body. he certainly hit the nail on the head. in hawaii there was a group of young japanese-americans who decided they wanted to serve their country and they wanted to serve in uniform. one of the most well-known and famous and highly take rated units in the entire world war ii was the battalion in which dan inouye served. he was a proud member of his battalion in combat and he was gravely wounded on the battlefield. he was brought, and as we all know lost his arm as a result of one of the ones that he

sustained. senator mccain went on to point out that he went to the veterans hospital in chicago where a person in the same ward was an american army second lieutenant who had also been wounded very seriously. he was wounded in italy in combat. bob dole, second lieutenant bob dole of kansas, a man that still today is representing the very best we have in kansas and their country and as such a great job as a the leader of this body. there became a friendship that lasted to this day, both men gravely wounded, both certainly dedicated more than ever to serve their country, both served with distinction. the friendship and the bonds of friendship that were forged in that hospital between bob and dan were unique and also enduring. yesterday also senator danny a

papa pointed out that his colleague from his native state was a true patriot and an american hero in every sense and he is at this time in hawaii, the greatest leader and he then said it's an incredible understatement to call that an institution. this chamber will never be the same without him. he also said that danny in a way that leaves behind the list of accomplishments unlikely to ever be parallel. his lifelong dedication and hard work in the name of this the leavitt country in the united states of america influence every part of his life and set him apart even in the senate. so today will be the first day since hawaii became a state in 1959 and danny inouye will not be representing us in the congress. every child born in hawaii will learn of danny inouye the man who changed the islands forever.

then senator a cocco said he was praying for his wife irene, his son and his daughter-in-law jessica and his step-daughter jennifer and his granddaughter maggie who was the apple of his side. like so many, with danny's untimely passing i have lost a very, very dear friend. in truth every senator in the senate as an institution is lost a dear friend. we have lost one of the less institutional flames of the senate. upon reflection of vacation i had the privilege to be with danny also represented my personal career and highlights as i look back. ted stevens were danny always had t-shirts made this that i survived the. ted took us to antarctica, north korea, and the wild east and any

number of places of national interest where nobody else would go as the song says, through the bushes and the brambles where a rabbit would not go. danny was the personification of those who get things done the effective way. staying in the background until time to take charge and then give others credit. i will always remember his voice advising the north koreans, in north korea, that they should make the 38th parallel a tourist site, not a shooting gallery. in the russian far east, we traveled to really nyland with mountains and raw materials arrive with alaska and where locals will tell you yes there are still saber toothed tigers north of the island. danny visiting with staff nodded sagely and then went into detail about as many other travels with a little fact and fiction mixed

in all with a twinkle in his eyes. i also remember in the community or the city of -- in the russian far east. we were at a hotel and i would say that this hotel, if there are any hotels in regard to the russian far east this one had to be won on the last of the list and as we went into our rooms i discovered that my dad was a wooden frame and then just straps, no mattress and then one blanket and no pillow. i thought being the junior member of this codel, this was something that they assigned to me so i went down the hall with my special key in hand and my special i.d. and that part of the world, that is what you do. i knocked on danny store and he said how can i be of service to you dear friend? i said, i would just like to look at your accommodations,

thinking of course he would have a bed and there was a wooden bed with the same kind of accommodations and no mattress and just one blanket. and he said, why are you interested in that bed? i said well, i thought being the junior member and having the same thing, that you know something might be better in your quarters. he got a big kick out of that and is always reminding me of that at various times when i would get a little upset about anything. but at any rate, it is not an understatement with regard to leadership. bipartisanship, integrity and achievement that was serve every member of the senate to task. what would danny inouye want us to do? today in "the washington post" there was a reference to the keynote speech that senator inouye gave in chicago and i quote, it was a period of unrest

after the assassinations of senator robert kennedy and the reverend martin luther king. speaking not as a democrat but as a citizen, senator inouye described a troubling loss of faith among americans. and he said, i do not mean a loss of religious faith. i mean a loss of faith in our country and purpose of its institutions. i mean a retreat from the responsibilities of citizenship. danny kolb for americans to rebuild their trust in government, an extraordinary statement from a man whose people had suffered grave injustices at the hands of government. the article on to say that senator inouye's remarks were immediately overshadowed by events of that convention but his speech was truly remarkable, speech that drew little attention there and it's even less remembered now. my colleagues, danny speech should be required reading

today, giving recently experienced tragedies in our country. it was just last week i was asked to speak and senator inouye's behalf and on behalf of the proposed eisenhower memorial, joint bipartisan effort that has taken far too long to bring to fruition. the day before in the cloak room, just back there, we had one of our many discussions, where he grabs my hand and looked me in the end said, you know you and i probably vote differently 80% of the time, but in all of our mutual efforts, all of our travels, i have considered you a brother. i did not know what to do. i responded with a tear in my eye and i said i love you danny inouye and he said i love you too. what a wonderful, what a wonderful thing to hear from a

true american hero in every respect. it has been a privilege and an honor to serve with such a remarkable, humble man. i also want to thank his wonderful staff and working with my staff on so many, many mutual projects. aloha, my dear friend. i will miss you every day. mr. president -- oh, i'm sorry. i yield back the balance of my time. >> the senator from new jersey. >> mr. president i asked unanimous consent to speak for five minutes. thank you mr. president. there a are few times in history, few times in the history of this institution when one senator, a singularly iconic leader, comes along and reminds us of what it means to be a

united states senator. what it means to represent the very best of what this nation stands for and to do it as he always did with the utmost dignity, honor, pride and integrity. i am deeply saddened to have to speak to the passing of the true american hero. someone who inspired so many of us here in the united states senate, someone whose ideals and sense of justice were always on display. the passing of senator inouye leaves a painful -- in -- in the leadership of this body. the life and sacrifice of senator inouye and so in so many ways embodied the essence of the greatest generation. even when faced with the suffering and dig -- and dignity and humiliation of an interment camp he did not allow his heart to be turned or his love and commitment of this country to be diminished.

justice was a constant theme in his life. he represented the challenges faced by his hawaiian people since statehood when he became its first representative in the united states congress. we had a close bond when he came to our concern for minorities in our country because of the struggles in his life. he understood the struggles in our communities. he felt a kinship to the hispanic community and share the community's hopes and aspirations. in recent conversations, i know he understood from his comments the growing importance of the hispanic community, the benefit of advancing their interests within american society, his words. he lived it, he understood it and he knew it. we worked together on the recognition of filipino veterans, something he was very passionate about anything to me most graciously as always for my interest in my commitment to work with him on an issue that is so dear to his heart. these are just a few stories of a man who lived a

quintessentially american life. i know there are thousands more to be so -- told on the senate floor but the real story is that this was a man who sacrifice for his country, met the challenges it presents but ultimately because of the kind heart and loyalty to the ideals we profess as americans, he became one of the most important yet most humble leaders in the united states senate. senator inouye and his life indeed reminded us what it means to be an american hero, a war hero who carried his service with him all of his life. his courage, his patriotism, his respect for the values he fought for and for his views and his votes in this chamber. the senate is sadly diminished today with the passing of one of our most respected and iconic leaders. a hero, a powerful voice for reason, rationality and common sense, with reason and

rationality and common sense was too often in short supply. he will be missed not only by all of us who had the privilege to serve with them, but by a nation who needs more leaders like him. all of us remember his lasting influence, his way of making us look into the heart of the matter without prejudice or preconceived -- he knew how to get to the crux of of the issue and he led the way so many times for the rest of us and we followed his new lead in the nation is better for it. all of us who worked with him as chairman of the appropriations committee respected his work and commitment. he was always willing to listen, always willing to hear your side, always willing to reach out across the aisle for what he believed was right and most recently he was the voice of support and wisdom in our efforts to secure disaster relief for my home state of new jersey. he improvised for the needs of new jersey and addressed the needs of hawaiians for decades. there is no more gracious man

then dan inouye, no one who is as dignified and respectfurespectfu l than the senior senator from hawaii. our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and his family and to the people of hawaii today. we have lost an incredibly great man. mahalo my friend, until we meet again. >> our first experience was becoming a different way than every other family. a probably never happen again in history and it's interesting because after dan was sworn and we went and took a picture, a photo of the family behind the oval office desk and that night we didn't get to move into the white house because nixon had left so quickly so unexpectedly, left his daughter and son-in-law david eisenhower to pack all their clothes and belongings and literally took seven or eight days. we had to go back to our little house in alexandria virginia, suburbia you know the neighborhood was surrounded by secret service.

we have had been living there as dan was vice president and i will never forget that, my mom was cooking dinner. literally we were sitting around the dinner table and mom is cooking dinner and she looked over at my dad and she goes jerry, something is wrong here. [laughter] you just became president of the united states and i'm still cooking. >> defense secretary leon panetta says acting forces on track to take the lead in securing our country next year. speaking at the national press club, he says the u.s. military will be smaller and leaner in the future.

we will show you as much of this hour-long event as we can before the u.s. senate. >> good afternoon. welcome to the national press club. my name is theresa werner and i'm the 105th president of the national press club. [applause] we we are the world's leading professional organization for journalists, committed to our professional future, there are programming and event such as this while fostering a free press worldwide. for more information about the national press club, please visit our web site at www.press.org. our programs offer to the public furor national press club journalism institute, please visit press.org/institute. on behalf of our member worldwide i would like to welcome our speaker and those of you attending today's event. our head table includes guests of our speaker as well as

working journalists who are club members and if you hear applause in our audience, we would note that members of the general public are attending so it is not necessarily evidence of a lack of journalistic objectivity. i would also like to welcome our c-span and public radio audiences. our lunches are also featured on our member produced weekly podcast from the national press club, available on itunes. you can also follow the action on twitter using hashtag ntc lunch. after our guest speech concludes we will have a q&a and i will ask as many questions as time permits. now i would like to introduce our head table guests and i ask each of you to stand briefly as your name is announced. from your right, jim michael, defense correspondent for "usa today." marilyn, "national public radio," camille, defense

department producer al-jazeera english. josh brogan, staff writer, "foreign policy magazine." george little, defense secretary special assistant for public affairs. lends spade, managing editor for "the washington post." dr. ashton carter, deputy alison fitzgerald, freelance journalist and cheryl women of the speakers committee. i am going to skip our speaker for a moment. diana levine font reporter for ust -- u.s. today and the speakers committee organized today's luncheon. dr. jim miller, undersecretary for defense policy. larry mavi, managing editor army magazine, john cosgrove, past president of the national press club and former commander of american legion post number 20 at the national press club.

incoming editor-in-chief aviation week and past chairman of the national press club board of governors. paul shankman, national security reporter "u.s. news and world report." [applause] just 18 months ago our guest today leon panetta presided in the cia director over one of the most daring operations in the country's history. field team six's operation neptune spear, the raid on osama bin laden secret compound in pakistan. three days ago, defense secretary panetta landed in turkey where he signed an order that would send to patriot missile batteries in 400 u.s. troops to operate them to the turkish border, a stark warning to syria's president bashar al-assad to cease the airstrikes

and fighting against syrian rebels that have bled into turkish territory. we can't spend a lot of time worrying about whether -- secretary panetta said afterwards. yet an interview with esquire, he said if he invited kim jong-un over for dinner he would serve him a glass of wine and try to understand how the guy things. clearly the piano playing dog loving secretary of defense is a complex man. his list of accomplishments over 74 years spans two branches of government, education and even a little bit of foreign labor on his california ranch. before taking office as the 23rd secretary of defense on july 4, 2011, secretary panetta served more than two years as cia director. after three years as chief of staff to president clinton, secretary panetta and his wife

sylvia codirected the leon and sylvia panetta institute for public poli-sci california state university at monterey bay, nonpartisan senator -- center to promote public service. he served eight terms in congress, rising in 1989 to chairman of the house budget committee. that set the stage for his next job, president clinton's director of the office of management and budget. today we hope to hear more about the raid that killed osama bin laden. the role of modern military in american foreign policy and what is next on secretary panetta's agenda. please join me in welcoming to the national press club secretary of defense, leon panetta. [applause] >> thank you very much, theresa, for that kind introduction. thank you for the invitation to be here today.

but i look forward to the opportunity to go back and -- and carmel valley. i have told the story before but it makes the point. when i was young, my father when he first planted that wanted orchard, as it grew he would go around and shake each of the branches. my brother and i would be underneath collecting the womb it's. when i got elected to congress, my italian father said, you have been well trained to go to washington and. [laughter] because you have been dodging all of your life. [applause] it's true. it was great training. i have had the opportunity to be here at the press club and obviously some of my past jobs as a member of congress and as

omb director and chief of staff. in those jobs, words were both my weapon and my shield. in this job, as secretary of defense, i have a hell of a lot more going for me. but, in a democracy, words remain the most powerful weapon in our arsenal. and it is for that reason that it is an honor for me to again be here at the national press club. i have long had a deep and abiding respect for the washington press corps to play an essential role in making our democracy strong by holding leaders and holding institutions accountable to the people they

serve. as secretary of defense, and in my past jobs, i learned that it was important to be accessible to the press and to be transparent with them with regards to the issues and the challenges that you confront and in this job i have tried to be as accessible as i can to the pentagon press corps, to engage regularly with reporters and to encourage other senior officials in the department to do the same. it is an especially important time to communicate our vision and our priorities as a department, because as i have said time and time and time again over this past year, i believe that we are at a strategic turning point. after more than a decade of war,

the longest extended period of conflict in the history of the united states. at the beginning of 2012, president obama and the military and civilian leaders of the department came together to publicly release a new defense strategy. it was designed to help the military effectively navigate this turning point and prepare for the future. under that strategy, our goal was to reshape the force of the 21st century, to try to meet the new security challenges that we are confronting in this world and try to help the country at the same time reduce the deficits that we were confronting.

we were handed a number in the budget control act, to reduce the defense budget by $487 billion over the next decade. that's almost a half a trillion dollars. and based on my own budget experience at the time, i knew that the approach should not to be simply to just cut it across-the-board and hollow out the force but to try to develop a strategy of what is it that we want the defense department to be not just now, but going into the future as well. that was the purpose of why we developed a strategy. as the year 2012 draws to a close, today i want to describe the strategic environment that are shaping our future plans, the progress we have made toward implementing the strategy and the risks that we face as we

work every day to try to keep america safe and secure. before i continue, let me just paid tribute to a couple of people here who join me at the head table. my deputy secretary ash carter, has played and continues to play a crucial role in helping me and dod develop and implement a strategy and i deeply appreciate his dedication and commitment to the department. i also want to pay tribute to my undersecretary for policy, jim miller, who was also here, who also worked very hard on that strategy to ensure that we develop the right strategy for the future. i am -- i should also say marty dempsey and all of the members, our service chiefs and members of the joint chiefs of staff all

participated and we have all participated in a kind of unprecedented effort to try to openly discuss what were the best steps we could take for the future. this is a time of historic change for the united states military. one year ago today, soldiers from the 1st calvary division crossed out of iraq into kuwait as part of the last convoy of u.s. troops to leave iraq. that war came to an end. last year, we also participated in a complex and successful nato mission that helped bring down gadhafi and giving libya ' libyan people. it was a complex operation when you have that many nations involved in a mission.

how do you decide partners? how do you decide who goes after those partners and yet we were able to bring that kind of coordination together and is served in nato, the united states very well in that effort and it creates i think very much a model for how we should approach the future if we ever faced that kind of situation again. our military and intelligence operations, and that is one of the things i am very proud of over the last last four years, is the integration between intelligence and military operations when it comes to going after terrorists. over the last year, as a result of those operations, we continued to continue to significantly weaken al qaeda's core leadership and put real pressure on their -- we are also now working to bring the conflict in afghanistan to a successful transition by the end of 2014.

last week i made my eighth trip to afghanistan. i had a chance to sit down with all of our military commanders throughout the region, throughout the country. we also went to kandahar and met with their military commanders there and also had the opportunity to meet with afghan leaders as well. all of them, all of them believe that we have fundamentally turned the tide in that effort after years in which we lacked the right strategy and the necessary resources to try to achieve the mission that we embarked on. we now have a plan in place to campaign plan endorsed in chicago by nato. we have strong international support. we have reversed a five-year trend of growing violence. the taliban to this day has not been able over this last year to regain any of the territory they

lost. we are building afghan security forces that are on track to take the lead for securing the entire country next year. we continue to transition both governance and security to the afghans. 75% of the population has now been transition to afghan security and yar, we will have . but we have also made clear that our commitment to afghanistan, as we draw down by the end of 2014, our commitment will continue. we are transitioning. we are not leading. we will maintain an enduring presence aimed at supporting afghan forces and ensuring the mission that we were embarked on

in afghanistan, a mission that al qaeda never again remains afghanistan is a state -- safe haven to attack the united states or our allies. [applause] after more than 10 years, of continuous warfare, deployment after deployment after deployment of our men and women in uniform, in these wars, the united states is truly at a critical point. as i said, large-scale conflicts in iraq and afghanistan are drawing to an end. and era of lying czech defense spending is over. and forces will be reduced. and all of this occurs as the

united states faces an array, of asymmetric threats around the world. even while it is obvious that we do not live in a world where another superpower threatens our military supremacy. it is equally obvious that the threats to our security and our global interests are not receiving. as they appeared to do in past wars, coming out of world war ii, coming out of korea, coming out of vietnam, coming out of the hands of the cold war where the threats exceeded and today we still confront these threats in the world, threats that are more complex, more dispersed, and in many ways more dangerous.

we have made progress. we have made progress against al qaeda's core leaders and its affiliates and the fata and continue to do it in yemen and in somalia. al qaeda is seeking new footholds throughout the middle east and in countries like mali, north africa. it remains determined to attack the united states. and it remains one of the serious threats that we must deal with. north korea, iran, continued to pose a proliferation threat and are engaged in activities that are destabilizing northeast asia and the middle east. the conflict in syria is

bringing a violent and to a regime that harbors a large stockpile of chemical and biological weapons and extremists seek to destabilize a nuclear-armed pakistan. increasing military spending by rising powers, the asia-pacific region and turmoil across the middle east and north africa are altering the strategic landscape. at the same time, the nature of military conflict is changing. because of the new technologies like cyber, the proliferation of missiles and wmd. we are seeing potential adversaries, state and nonstate actors alike acquire more

advanced, hybrid and high-end capabilities designed to frustrate conventional advantages of our armed forces. this means that the military services must remain vigilant. they must remain strong, must remain prepared to operate in a play that differs significantly from the past. we will continue to face terrorism, the deadly attacks by ieds, but we must also be ready for more capable adversaries to attack our forces and our homeland in cyberspace. to attack and launch precision strikes against forward bases, to attempt to cripple our power

grid, our financial systems, our government systems, to attempt to deny as freedom of action, to asymmetric attacks. as i said, the goal of our new defense strategy is to help shape the force of the 21st century. to try to adapt our forces and operating concepts so that we are better prepared for an unpredictable and dangerous future, even in an era of constrained resources. we have been determined to avoid the approach taken in past drawdowns, or as i said, there were deep across-the-board cuts that hollowed out the force and weakened our military and left the military demoralized and i'm ready to carry out the missions

assigned to it. instead, we have set priorities and make tough decisions to try to build the force of the future and to remain the strongest military power on the face of the earth. the strategy consists of five elements. we have already made significant progress is here towards implementing that strategy. and let me describe if i can to strategy and what we have done. the first element of the strategy is to build a force that is clearly going to be smaller and leaner. that is a reality. you are going to be smaller and leaner coming out of these last wars. but we must ensure that at the same time, the military is agile, flexible and technologically advanced and prepared to deployas